on this sunday night, sky fall. an austrian daredevil takes a record dive from space, 23 miles from the earth, making history at the speed of sound. millions around the world holding their breath. round two, both sides come out swinging as the candidates hunker down 48 hours before a high stakes showdown. and a meningitis breakout. and big brother is watching. the uproar over a controversial new way schools are keeping track of kids. why some say they have finally

gone too far. good evening. it was a suspenseful and awe-inspiring tv spectacle. one man's daredevil leap from a capsule from 22 miles above the earth. part marketing stunt or not. adventure felix baumgartner pushed the boundaries of human endurnance at almost 800 miles n hour. nbc's tom costello monitored the mission.

he joins us from washington with more. >> the team says that felix baumgartner broke the record for the highest jump ever, the highest free fall and he broke the sound barrier at mach 1. >> felix disconnect the oxygen hose. >> reporter: there he was at 128,000 feet, standing quite literally on the edge of space, preparing to do what no one had done before, with his mom watching from mission control, 43-year-old felix baumgartner offered a few words most most part to understood. then he was gone, beginning a terrifying supersonic dive from 24 miles up. a white dot as he quickly passed 700 miles an hour. >> speed 720 miles an hour.

>> reporter: the scene began well before sun rise as they prepared felix. baumgartner is no novice he's made harrowing dumps before from 15 and 18 miles up. but today was about breaking a free fall record that has stood since 1960. the former austrian military paratrooper faced instant death. he told jay leno that fear is healthy. this morning after a brief burst of wind, baumgartner's balloon got the green light. and 2 1/2 hours later, he was standing where no man had stood before. >> and our guahe shot out like

bullet. exceeding the speed of sound, and then with a face mask fogging up, what looked like a terrifying out of control flat spin before he stabilized. finally 4 1/2 minutes later, baumgartner pulled his chute and floated to a landing in the new mexico desert. >> you're out there, you do not want to die in front of your parents, your girlfriend. >> reporter: it was extraordinary. nasa feels that there could be amount to be learned and the techniques that could be used on future nasa space missions. >> what happened to the capsule? >> it also came down via parachute in the new mexican desert and we're told it's in

good shach good shape. we're just 48 hours from the second presidential debate. the president and mitt romney are hunkered down in heavy prep mode and in last week's vice presidential debate, the debate between the top two on the ticket could be a barn burrer. >> reporter: president obama took a break this afternoon surprising supporters. he told reporters debate camp is off to a good start. >> it is going great. >> reporter: mitt romney hunkered down preparing in boston, attended church this morning with wife ann after spending saturday trying to chip away at the president's narrow lead in battleground state of ohio. romney is aiming to harness momentum after a successful first debate.

president obama is his own worst critic. romney campaign advisor ed gi gillespie countered. tuesday's town hall style debate will likely include questions. >> we did not know they wanted more security. >> either they are misleading the american people are incredibly incompetent. >> not true says top security advisor david axelrod. >> it didn't come to the white house. >> reporter: while the vice president had an otherwise strong performance, he was criticized for laughing during some of challenger paul ryan's responses. >> any time the other side carl rove or the folks on the far

right are going after my father for smiling too much, you know that's a victory. >> reporter: and "saturday night live" had a little fun with both presidential canning d aial can. both candidates right now are heavily focused on ohio, president obama getting an assist from former president clinton, and bruce springstein who will make a joint appearance there at the end of the week. >> we want you to know that our coverage of the second presidential debate begins tuesday night 7:00 p.m. eastern. and a voice of moderation and a figure of catastropontrov died. today he lost his final battle with cancer and nbc's kelly

o'donnell looks back on his life and legacy. >> reporter: from his days as a scrappy philadelphia prosecutor to decades as that rare washington moderate, arlen specter was often influential and irascible. >> i have been viewed as who has been accurately characterized as independence, perhaps fierce independence. >> reporter: admired for how he kept going. >> i have beaten a lot of tough political opponents. >> reporter: swept into congress under ronald reagan in 1980, but specter's views supporting immigration rights, abortion and gun control made him too liberal for the tea party movement. under assault, he bolted to the democratic party. >> my change in party will enable me to be re-elected. >> reporter: but specter lost. >> it's been a great privilege

to serve the people of pennsylvania. >> reporter: he knew controversy well, at the warren commission, he wrote the single bullet theory that explained how lee oswald acting alone assassinated john f. kennedy. he angered many women after the spectacle around anita hill. but specter is also remembered for his wit and his devotion to the senate. >> i lead with great optimism for the future of our country, a great optimism for the continuing vital rule of the united states senate and the governance of our democracy. >> arlen specter was 82. we turn now to that outbreak of meningitis cases tied to steroid injections from a

pharmacy in massachusetts. today the cdc said the number of cases has risen to 205 in 14 states. all this is bringing new scrutiny to a specialized part of the pharmacy industry. we get more from nbc's senior investigative correspondent lisa myers. >> she was the type of person that everyone loved. she was dynamic, she was loving. >> reporter: george carol's wife was getting what she thought was a routine steroid injection for back pain and it killed her. it turns out the company that compounded the drug -- in 2002 and 2003, the f -- in 2004 a man

died from a contaminated injection, necc settled the lawsuit. in 2006, the fda issued a warning left for necc to stop marketing the cream. they produced thousands of doses of the steroid. >> when was the last time either the food and drug administration or the massachusetts board of pharmacy were visiting this business and looking carefully at what they were doing. we already know that they had had a history of problems, was anyone following up with that? >> reporter: this is by no means the first time safety concerns have been raised about these specialized compounding pharmacies. since 2004, the fda has issued 49 warning letters to compounding pharmacies around the country for significant safety violations. and at least 19 previous deaths

may be associated with drugs from these pharmacies. the fda says it has some authority to regulate them, but that the agency's authority over compounding has been challenged vigorously in the courts by compounding pharmacies as well as in congress. but critics argue that because necc was manufacturing drugs on a wide scale, the fda clearly had authority to act. >> the fda for whatever reason has dropped the ball. >> reporter: necc did not spongd to multiple requesters for comment. t lisa myers nbc news, washington. overseas now in the crisis in syria where tonight a human rights organization is accusing the assaad regime of using cluster bombs to target civilians, meantime syrian rebels posted in video online showing they shot down a fighter

jet near aleppo. now to a story that sparked an outcry around the world. the 14-year-old girl who fought for the rights of other young girls to be educated and independent. now fighting for her own life after she was shot by a team of taliban gunman. we have an update on her condition and the growing outrage at her attackers. >> reporter: military officials overseeing the care of the 14-year-old girl say she's making satisfactory process, but they are considering sending her abroad for specialized treatment. meanwhile here in pakistan, the anger continues to grow. today tens of thousands turned out in karachi to register their dissent to the taliban.

hundreds of schoolgirls gathered to support her. some here are now saying that this is the chance for the military to strike at the heart of the taliban in the border region as the outrage over the attack grows, as do the cries for justice for mallal. still ahead, as nightly news continues, the uproars over the way some schools are tracking students, every movement, every move they make. and you just can't believe your eyes. many medications. dry mouth can be frustrating... and ignoring it can lead to... sipping water can help, but dentists recommend biotene. biotene moisturizes and helps supplement some of saliva's enzymes, providing soothing relief when you need it most. don't ignore dry mouth... look for biotene in your oral care section today. this has been medifacts for biotene.

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we're back now with a growing controversy in texas and possibly coming to a school near you. businesses have been using radio frequency microchips to track merchandise for years. but now one of the largest school districts in the lone star state has come under fire requiring students to wear them, monitoring every move they make. here's the report from san antonio. >> reporter: any of the 1,200 students in the san antonio middle school can be located in an instant because of what they're wearing. >> it had a tracking device on

the back of it. >> reporter: the students are the first in the country to be assigned radio frequency badges. by using new electronics embedded throughout the school, her staff can instantly locate any student on campus. they help count them and counting students is how schools make money. for every student counted during attendance, the state pays northside about $30 a day. the district, which has laid off teachers and struggled with budget cuts was losing about $7 million a year in part because of poor attendance reporting so the district turned to technology to improve the numbers. >> the dollars that are generated that are not in the class to answer present, but they're in the nurse's office, the counselor's office, in the gym, et cetera, if we can prove

that they were in school, we can still get the money. >> they're tracking us like we're convicts or something. >> reporter: steve hernandez whose daughter andrea opposes the electronic badge for religious reasons. >> my daughter should not have to compromise her faith just because north side school district wants to get paid. >> the tracking capabilities violation privacy rights. >> reporter: the school district says attendance numbers are up since the system has been in place, so the badges are here to stay. we'll take a break and then back in a moment with our friend bob costas and the big break that has everyone talking. you can try strategies from independent experts and see what criteria they use. such as a 5% yield on dividend-paying stocks.

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break, love them or hate them, everyone has an opinion about the new york yankees. and last night their captain went down with a broken ankle. bob costas is on duty for sunday night football and he's here to talk about the big loss for baseball. besides being a temporary loss for the yankees, what does this mean for baseball, a guy, bob, that seems to transcend the sport? >> reporter: there are many yankee haters who like to root for the team, where you either love them or hate them, but everybody knows who they are and jeter has been with the team through it's modern day run of success, and there's nobody in baseball regardless of what team they root for because of what he's accomplished. this year at age 38, he h

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it arrived several hours behind schedule. but tonight after a 12-mile slow speed journey through los angeles, the space shuttle "endeavour" has reached it's final destination at the california science center. and finally tonight, what are we to make of daredevil felix baumgartner's free fall from space. >> reporter: felix baumgartner isn't the first daredevil to command a day's headlines and front pages with a stunt that seems unbelievable and he surely won't be the last. but will you remember his name a year from now? a month? next week? if you remember so many of history's other daredevils, the wire walker that crossed between the twin towers.

the human spider-man who scaled the sears tower. a few career daredevils have managed to become cultural touch stones, but for the most part, a can you believe that stunt is exactly that, a stunt, however difficult or improbable or dangerous. that's why the men and women who pull them off are so often seen as daredevils in search of fame. think of the crowds who have lined the streets of l.a. for parts of three days now just to see and be near the shuttle endeavor as it inched its way to retirement. there were thousands who couldn't take their eyes off a machine, a machine that carried the hopes of others, the hopes of mankind, time after time

through the limits of space. the best of us, a dream machine carrying all those heros. baumgartner's plunge from near space was a one shot wonder to be admired. but for what he did, the men and women that flew on the space shuttle were each captivating in their own way. that's nbc "nightly news" for this sunday. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting for all of us here at nbc news. good night.